Adjustable height shoe heel system

ABSTRACT

An adjustable height shoe heel system having a low heel member and a high heel member. The high heel portion has a Y shape. The low heel portion has a W shape. The top legs of the Y shape can of nest into the recesses of the W shape when in the low heel mode. The legs of the Y shape rotatably pinned to the central portion of the W shape so that the high heel can pivot down when in the high heel mode. A heel retaining spring member is fixed at its lowest point to a post protruding from the high heel member and at its highest points are removably retained by apertures located in the side walls of the low heel member. A high heel cover member surrounds the high heel member when in high heel mode.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of women's shoes and more specifically to an adjustable height shoe heel system.

Women's shoes are designed with varying heal heights. A woman's dress shoe may have a high heel, whereas a woman's casual shoe may have a low heal. High heals, although fashionable, can become uncomfortable if worn over long periods of time. High heals may also be dangerous to wear on uneven or snow covered walking surfaces. In some cases women, when wearing high heeled shoes, carry an extra pair of low heal shoes with them in order to be prepared for occasions where high heels become impractical or uncomfortable. Often a woman will wear low healed shoes to work, and then change to high healed shoes when at work. For all these reasons, it would be desirable to have one shoe that could be adjusted to be a high heal shoe or a low heal shoe.

Others have addressed the concept of a convertible healed shoe. These include patents:

U.S. Pat. No. 235,290

U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,310

U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,418

U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,320

U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,730

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,021,586 and 6,785,987

However, there is are deficiencies in the prior art. Many of the designs require the user to slide off, or in other ways, remove the high heel from the shoe. This requires that the person store both high heels in a separate location and then attach them when needed. In many cases The bottom of the low heel would have to be completely cleaned off to prepare for the receiving of the high heel members. This would tend to be time consuming and messy. The telescoping designs shown in several of the patents, for converting from high heel to low heel are problematic in that telescoping members require a space consuming overlap from one portion to another making the low heel mode relatively thick.

Additionally, the telescoping members tend to have small gaps between the outer wall of one member and the inner wall of the next member thereby creating a high heel that may feel somewhat unstable during use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide an shoe heel system for a woman's shoe that can quickly and easily adjust from a low heel to a high heel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable shoe heel that does not need to be removed from the shoe to be adjusted.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable shoe heel system that allows the shoe to look like a traditional high or low heel when set in the desired position.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable shoe heel system where the side walls of the shoe can automatically adjust to accommodate either a high heel or a low heel condition.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed an adjustable height shoe heel system comprising: a sole portion, a front toe covering portion, a side wall portion, a side wall elastic portion, a rear portion, a low heel member, a high heel member, a heel pivot shaft member, a heel retaining torsion spring member, a high heel cover member, said side wall portion including a plurality of vertically oriented slits, said side wall elastic portion fixedly attached to the inside walls of said side wall portion, said high heel portion having a Y shape, said low heel portion having a W shape, said low heel portion fixedly attached to the underside of said sole portion, the top legs of said Y shape capable of nesting into the recesses of said W shape when in the low heel orientation, said top legs of said Y shape rotatably pinned by said shaft member to the central portion of said W shape so that said high heel can pivot down when in the high heel orientation, said heel retaining torsion spring member fixed at its lowest point to a post protruding from said high heel member, the upper portions of said heel retaining torsion spring member bent outward from each other and removably retained by apertures located in the side walls of said low heel member, and said high heel cover member surrounding said high heel member and removably retained to said low heel member by standard means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the invention in the high heel mode.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the invention in the low heel mode.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear section view of the invention

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side section view of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a front section view of the invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the invention in the high heel position.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the alternate embodiment of the invention in the low heel position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a side view of the present invention in the high heel mode. A front shoe portion 2 includes a toe covering housing, usually made of leather or other flexible material. The side walls include slits 8, 22, 24 forming independent strips 10, 12. The inside walls include an elastic panel as shown in the side section view of FIG. 6. The elastic panels allow the side walls of the shoe to flex as shown in FIG. 2 when the shoe is in the low heel mode. However, if the side walls of the shoe were made of elastic material, there would be no need for a separate elastic panel or for slits in the side walls. The rear foot holding portion 30 of the shoe is structured in the standard manner. Additionally, a layer of material that is non abrasive such as satin can be applied to the inside wall of the elastic material so that wearing the shoe for an extended period will not cause chaffing on the user's foot.

In an alternate embodiment 300 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the side walls include a slidable panel 304 can move between an exposed position as in FIG. 10 to a hidden position as shown in by dotted lines 304 in FIG. 9. The slit 302 in the side of the shoe allows the side of the shoe to expand and contract as needed.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a low heel member 16 is fixedly attached to the underside of the sole portion 80 of the shoe. A heal cover member 18 covers the structural high heel 20 as will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the invention in the low heel mode. High heel member 20 is folded down and stored within low heel 16.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the invention while in the low heel mode. High heel 20 is Y shaped and low heel 16 is W shaped. The upper legs of the Y shape can nest into the recesses of the W shape when in the low heel mode. Shaft 32 rotatably pins the upper legs of the Y shaped high heel member 20 to the central portion of the W shaped low heel member 16.

FIG. 4 shows a rear section view of the invention as defined by section line 14 shown in FIG. 1. In this view, The Y shaped high heel member 20 can be clearly seen as it is pinned to the low heel member 16 via shaft member 32. High heel cover member 18 can be seen surrounding the high heel member 20 and blending in seamlessly with low heel member 16. Standard insole cushion pad 34 can also be seen in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 shows a rear view of the shoe of the present invention. Standard rear foot retaining portion 30 is clearly seen as is the smooth transition from the high heel cover member 18 to the low heel member 16. The cover member 18 is small in size and two cover members 18 can be nested together and easily stored in a women's purse or pocket when not in use. The cover member 18 stops short of the bottom of heel member 20 so that cover member 18 does not bear the weight of the wearer. The cover 18 is for appearance purposes only.

FIG. 6 is a side section view of the shoe of the present invention as defined by section line 40 shown in FIG. 5. This view clearly shows the pivot shaft 32 that allows high heel member 20 to rotate. The back of the high heel member 20 touches the inside wall of low heel member 16 to act as a stop when held in the correct vertical orientation. Torsion spring 42 keeps the high heel member 20 from folding down during use. The bottom portion of the spring 42 is held by a post 44 that protrudes from the front of heel member 20. The top arms of torsion spring 42 bend outwards from one another 62 and can be removably retained by apertures in the inside wall of low heel member 16. Heel cover 18 is secured to low heel member 16 by a magnet 46 inset in heel member 16 and a steel plate 48 inset in heel cover 18. Other standard means of attachment may be used such as snap fasteners or tongue and groove fastening techniques. Another view of the torsion spring member 42 can be seen in FIG. 8. Tabs 43 allow the user to pinch inward the spring arms by finger pressure thereby releasing the outwardly bent portions 62, 64 of the spring from the mating apertures in the walls of low heel member 16. Steel plate 48 can also be clearly seen in FIG. 8 which is designed to magnetically attach to magnet 46 located in lower heel 16. Standard inner sole cushion 34 can be clearly seen as well as elastic member 52.

FIG. 7 is a front section view as defined by section line 6 in FIG. 1. This view clearly shows elastic members 52, 52A as they are attached to the inside walls 2 of the shoe of the present invention.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. adjustable height shoe heel system comprising: a sole portion; a front toe covering portion; a side wall portion; a side wall elastic portion; a rear portion; a low heel member; a high heel member; a heel pivot shaft member; a heel retaining torsion spring member; a high heel cover member; said front toe covering portion fixedly attached to said sole portion in a standard way; said side wall portion including a plurality of vertically oriented slits; said side wall elastic portion fixedly attached to the inside walls of said side wall portion; said high heel portion having a Y shape; said low heel portion having a W shape; said low heel portion fixedly attached to the underside of said sole portion; the top legs of said Y shape capable of nesting into the recesses of said W shape when in the low heel mode; said top legs of said Y shape rotatably pinned to the central portion of said W shape so that said high heel can pivot down when in the high heel mode; said heel retaining torsion spring member fixed at its lowest point to a post protruding from said high heel member; the upper portions of said heel retaining torsion spring member bent outward from each other and removably retained within apertures located in the side walls of said low heel member; and said high heel cover member surrounding said high heel member and removably retained to said low heel member by standard means.
 2. An adjustable height shoe heel system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said high heel cover is removably retained by a magnet imbedded in said low heel member and a steel plate imbedded in said heel cover.
 3. An adjustable height shoe heel system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heel retaining torsion spring includes a tab on each leg of said spring to enable the squeezing of said spring during the adjustment process from high heel to low heel.
 4. An alternate embodiment of said adjustable height shoe heel system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said side walls of said shoe are made of elastic material and do not require said slits or said additional elastic material.
 5. An alternate embodiment of said adjustable height shoe heel system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side walls of said shoe include a slidable panel that is exposed when said shoe is in the low heel positron and hidden when in the high heel position. 